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As organisations chart their growth and enter new markets, market research can assist them with these goals through data-driven insights. Market research plays a pivotal role in identifying market trends, uncovering competitive advantages, and discovering consumer intent and behaviours. This helps brands make better decisions based on data.

Therefore, market researchers are increasingly turning to technology to improve data collection methods, research processes, and consumer insights presentations. Technology allows researchers to reduce costs, boost productivity and increase efficiencies in all primary functions.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are at the forefront of technological breakthroughs transforming the market research industry. These and other technologies allow more efficient and meaningful data collection and analysis.

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Let’s take a closer look at the most important technological trends in market research.

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is the ability of a computer or a computer-controlled robot to perform tasks usually done by humans and associated with intelligent beings. In market research, A.I. provides large amounts of unstructured data at scale.

A.I. is often used in conjunction with traditional methods with excellent outcomes in influencing marketing strategies, delivering service solutions, and uncovering consumer behaviour. It assists people in market research by automating tasks and increasing efficiencies, obtaining deep insights from a large amount of data, and enabling them to use natural language processing (N.L.P.) for better understanding.

Most people understand that traditional market research is about online surveys. A.I. allows surveys to be conducted via voice. For instance, brands are using voice survey tools to collect data that sounds more human. This is an incredible new development that allows users to provide feedback hands-free. For researchers, this is a qualitative approach that speaks volumes regarding the emotions behind the words. It captures the true sentiment of the participants.

2. Eye-tracking

Eye-tracking is a research methodology for measuring where a person looks, providing insight into their thinking.

It is now possible to record everything about how the eye interacts with everything in front of it. Using infrared light and high-resolution cameras, market researchers can track how eyes move in response to stimuli. They can, therefore, unlock real-time emotions and consumer reactions, obtaining insightful and quantifiable data behind consumer reactions and behaviour.

3. Real-time feedback

Real-time feedback is a type of qualitative market research methodology in which you receive live feedback from users or visitors on your website or app.

Mobile diaries allow brands to obtain “in-the-moment” real-time responses. They don’t have to recall their experiences from a few days or weeks ago; they can provide real-time feedback, for instance, while interacting with your app or product.

Most people always have their phones with them, not necessarily a traditional journal or diary.

4. Microdata

We hear and read about “big data,” but microdata is becoming increasingly crucial. Microdata is data about individual consumer activity.

Microdata is data on the characteristics of units of a population, like individuals, establishments, or households, collected by a census or survey.

A good understanding of individual consumer behaviour supports more targeted business decisions. So while big data is essential, certain decisions cannot be made using macro data methodologies.

5. Augmented Reality (A.R.)

According to Investopedia, “Augmented Reality (A.R.) is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology.”

We partnered with Asahi on a pilot designed to explore the applications of augmented reality in package testing. The pilot was focused on one of Asahi’s flagship brands: Fuller’s London Pride. London Pride is already the capital’s number one ale. Still, as part of a strategic drive to bring the brand to more ale lovers nationally, Asahi wanted to test a new concept for the packaging against the existing bottle design.

Read the complete case study on how we ran an industry-leading pilot test on A.R. in market research to discover its applications to pack testing.

Virtual environments have provided brands and market researchers with a more accessible and less expensive way of product concept testing, feasibility analysis, and interpreting consumer behaviour regarding a new and developing product.

Brands use A.R. to help consumers view a product, like a piece of furniture in their surroundings. It provides the brand with feedback on how a product can work for customers. It is also far less expensive than a focus group or shipping the product to the consumer.

6. Internet of Things (IoT) and Wearables

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of connected objects or devices that can collect and exchange data in real-time using embedded sensors. Cars, thermostats, lights, and window blinds, can all be connected to collect and exchange information over a network using sensors.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are a goldmine of data with many facets of consumers’ everyday lives. Let’s say a company wanted to measure the activity levels of consumers in the new year. They will get rich data from a wearable device like a Fitbit or Apple watch (with the user’s permission).

7. Social targeting

Social media targeting is the ability to post or advertise certain content to specific audiences. These can be chosen by the person posting or the advertiser to include niche audiences based on demographics, interests, etc.

There are over 4.55 billion social media users worldwide, and that’s where most people congregate nowadays. Advertisers have leveraged the precise targeting of niche audiences to drive leads and sales.

Brands can target a specific section of the population based on age, gender, interests, behaviours, languages, and even the brands and products they currently use.

Market researchers can use social sampling to effectively target participants according to what they are looking for based on personal interests, location, and interests.

Surveying consumers virtually allows them to target specific niches of participants. Researchers can select participants who care about the product or service with precise targeting, resulting in higher response rates.

There are plenty of opportunities to adopt new technologies in market research so brands can get better insights faster. This enables brands to make better decisions based on rich data.

Technology makes it possible for market researchers to collect data quicker and more accurately and analyse it more effectively. However, they also need to sharpen their skills when using technology. In some cases, it is essential to complement traditional methods with technology. In either case, technology adoption will allow market researchers to spend less time on data collection and analysis and more time on the big picture problem-solving. This will bring more value to the brands and markets they serve.

Technology to enhance, not replace, the human component

While technology provides real-time, rich, and robust data and an efficient way to sift through vast amounts of data, it does not replace experience in interpretation. Technology should complement, accelerate, and enhance the market research methodologies, not replace them.

For instance, automation should be used to reduce the time between putting the survey in the field and retrieving the feedback and responses. But the automation should not replace the interpretation made by an experienced market researcher.

Market researchers know how to design surveys, ask the right questions, and interpret data. With the advances in technology, they can move from data collection to more big-picture thinking. In a world of automation and data, human beings remain unique in their ability to create and understand people.

Consumer interest in Connected Technology is rising due to the accelerated digital shift to “at-home” trends during the pandemic. With an increasing number of people working, learning, shopping, exercising, and even monitoring their health from the comfort of their homes, the connected technology market is rife with opportunities for brands in a multitude of sectors.

From AI-enabled voice assistants that can be summoned on command to watches that have gone beyond telling time and have converted our wrists into smartphone holders and health monitoring devices, connected technologies are transforming the way we live, work, and play.

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Market research and product testing are paramount for the successful launch of connected technology products.

With an increasing number of consumers and households jumping on the connected technology bandwagon, we are collecting more information and data than ever before, which has positive and negative implications for the market research industry.

Market research companies provide product testing services in various industries as they conduct research studies for a range of products before they are launched and help guide new product development. These companies put the products in the hands of the consumers who will be using the technology.

Product testing is a research methodology that allows brands to gather quantitative and qualitative information about a user’s potential behaviour, reactions, and preferences, like the taste, feel, and smell. For connected technology, often, a prototype is tested in the market before it goes into development.

What is connected technology?

Connected technology is products with built-in or embedded technology comprising sensors and processors to connect with their environment and other products.

Connected technology is tied with the Internet of Things (IoT). Watches are no longer used only to tell time; their function has extended to enable text messaging, phone calls, and fitness monitoring. Our homes are getting smarter; our cars go the extra mile to deliver convenience; our offices thrive remotely using real-life collaboration and project management tools.

Let’s look at some of the main areas where connected technology is unfurling, what the future has in store for consumers, and how brands can match this rapid growth.

How are people currently using connected technology?

Connected technology has seamlessly integrated into our daily lives and shows no signs of slowing down, and for good reason. The demand for connected technology that provides convenience, comfort, accessibility, and automation is at a historic high.

To understand the benefits and use of connected tech, let’s look at the main areas we use connected technology in our daily lives.

There’s no place like a smart home.

Smart homes are redefining our living spaces and becoming more innovative. According to Statista, the global smart home market is worth more than US$126 billion.

Consumers increasingly demand home automation when they purchase a home —and for a good reason. Home automation provides convenience, functionality, security, entertainment, and energy savings. The possibilities are endless.

For instance, lighting control network systems allow you to control the whole home or building remotely by your smartphone. Sensors turn lights on and off as we enter and exit rooms. Automated window treatments allow you to control a room’s ambient lighting and other aspects remotely. Smart homes also allow for remote access.

Smart appliances are making life easier for households. Smart Appliances as a segment includes all kinds of connected household appliances. Surveillance cameras and home security systems are getting more advanced. Baby and pet monitors allow people to monitor their babies and pets.

Consumers in Asia adopt devices more quickly than in North America and Europe, and South Korea leads the way with a 27 percent household penetration rate in 2022.

Smart homes are not just nice to have anymore. Homeowners are increasingly expecting smart home features, and builders and technology companies are taking note.

Smart homes are getting smarter and now go beyond just thermostats and light dimmers. Technology is becoming much more affordable and accessible, and some smart homes will make your jaw drop.

Consumers are much savvier and increasingly demand technology built into their homes. Even the lower to mid-range new home buyers expect certain smart home features to be part of the build. Therefore, every construction company needs to include these home features or risk falling behind their competitors.

How does the demand for Smart Homes impact brands in the market?

This new trend has many implications for the market. Builders will need to consider privacy and cybersecurity, adjust agreements, make sure devices can “talk” to each other, and have the ability to offer flexibility as new technologies are added in the future.

With the average household using 25 connected devices, there is considerable pressure to provide a connectivity network far beyond what a regular service provider can deliver.

The pandemic has also created a new generation of germophobes, and KB Homes, a home builder in the U.S., has launched MERV-13-rated air filters in their communities. Compared to lower-rated air filters, these high-grade residential air filters eliminate dust, pollen, mould, and certain bacteria and viruses for improved air quality.

Home appliance brands are not only thinking of innovations but also a way to upgrade features into existing smart products. The CES 2022 show in Las Vegas saw AI-powered laundry machines, hands-free faucets, healthier microwaves, next-level smart blinds, and smart bathing technology.

Connected technology is driving the automobile industry.

Connected technology is designed to connect to a smartphone to do more than play music or route phone calls through the car’s speaker. For instance, you can turn a connected vehicle on or off using a smartphone. It can allow the owner to use an app to control the car or share diagnostic data to remind you when an oil change is due, and so on.

Connected vehicles on the road connect to a network so all types and sizes of cars can “talk” to each other as they share vital information on safety, road conditions, traffic, and mobility.

These are just a few instances that barely scratch the surface of what connected vehicles can do.

A Statista report estimates the size of the global connected car fleet to increase more than threefold in the coming years. In 2021, there were about 84 million connected cars in the United States, and it is projected to exceed 305 million in 2035, making the United States the biggest market for connected vehicles.

Europe currently accounts for around 30 percent of the global connected car fleet. The E.U. is one of the regions with significant potential for connected services.

As of 2019, about half of the motorists in Europe said they were willing to switch car brands to access new connectivity features and services.

For more insights, download our report, “Speed bumps on the Road to Change.”

Wearing your heart on your sleeve.

According to 1Mordor’s 2020 report: “The connected medical device market is expected to register a CAGR of 18.92% over the forecast period from 2022 to 2027.” The same report showed the Asia Pacific as the fastest growing market and North America as the largest market.

Connected tech in healthcare is also referred to as Connected Care. It may be defined as the real-time, electronic communication between a patient and a medical provider, using digital tools such as remote patient monitors, telehealth, wearable technology, secure messaging, and mobile apps, to name a few.

For more insights, download our report, “Health and Wellness Trends.”

It is estimated that remote monitoring for healthcare could be worth USD 1.1 trillion by 2025.

Wearable technologies hold a significant share of this market, providing real-time data so health care providers can help patients remotely. They provide convenience and cost-effectiveness by reducing multiple visits to the doctor’s office. With cardiac-related devices expected to be worth USD 800 billion by 2030, there is a massive opportunity for healthcare brands in the cardiac segment for wearables.

These medical devices can be vulnerable to security breaches, impacting their safety and effectiveness because they are computer systems.

While there are data security risks involved, wearables can detect cardiac arrhythmia conditions causing stroke and allow neurologists to diagnose seizures remotely; the benefits of these products far outweigh any risks.

Connected tech encompasses your fur babies.

The pet humanization trend and growing concern amongst pet owners about the health and safety of their pets continues to drive the pet industry’s growth at a CAGR of 6.1 percent. You can now dress your pet in a Banana Republic sweater, insure them with MetLife, and get CBD supplements to calm them down.

This trend is now dovetailing into the pet wearable devices market. According to a recent global market research study, the global market for pet wearables is expected to reach USD 2,5 billion by 2024. Pets can wear these devices to help identify, track, control, and even for medical diagnosis and treatment. Furbo is one such pet wearable in the market that aids anxiety in dogs. A remote pet camera that alerts you when your dog is barking can take dog selfies, and owners can toss treats, all from their smartphones.

Connected technology is reshaping the fitness industry.

One of the first industries impacted adversely by the pandemic was gyms and fitness centres when they were forced to close their doors due to fears of spreading COVID-19. Stuck at home and with more time on hand than ever before, consumers made a beeline for at-home gym equipment. Peloton was at the forefront of this revolution and later bought Lululemon’s Mirror.

Peloton’s stock has reached highs and has plummeted in what seems like a roller coaster ride. When gyms closed during the pandemic, Peloton’s stock price and product sales were at an all-time high, increasing more than eightfold from March to December 2020.

An Atlantic article revealed the company had 2.3 million users paying about $40 a month to take classes on its “connected fitness” products by August 2021.

Google trends show a similar picture.

At-home fitness trends during the Pandemic — At-home Fitness Trends during the Pandemic

The global home-fitness equipment market will grow to $15.13 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6%. The at-home fitness market is expected to reach $21.84 billion by 2026.

What does this mean for fitness brands —both in-person gyms and online fitness platforms?

Brands providing fitness solutions inside and outside the home will need to commit to the new normal and an approach that fits consumers’ lifestyles.

Brands that want to become a part of their consumer’s fitness regimen will have to consider a hybrid approach. On-site fitness studios and solutions should utilize a more hybrid approach to keep consumers physically and digitally engaged and connected. They can do this by complimenting their in-person services with a mobile application. At the same time, brands with at-home gym equipment and tools should make data security a priority.

The intersection of retail and technology elevates the shopping experience —both in-store and online.

Not all businesses survived the pandemic and the recent, rapid shifts in consumer habits, but the ones that did are thriving. These retailers have been able to master the in-store shopping experience.

Retail technology provides an exciting opportunity to both consumers and retail brands. Connected technology is taking the shopping experience up several notches. While people still shop in these stores, a brand’s physical location is considered one of the many channels. Consumers interact with these stores digitally and will come to expect this from every brand.

From using virtual mirrors to try on clothes to pointing a piece of furniture on your cell phone and placing it in your home, Augmented Reality (A.R.) is changing how we shop and try products. Car shoppers can go into dealerships and customize cars with different colours or styles using their tablets or phones. They can use A.R. to try sunglasses from the comfort of their home.

Grocery stores may look the same as many years ago, but the experience has completely transformed. The distinction between online and offline has little relevance today in the grocery space. This is because today’s consumers do not want their shopping experience to be held back by the limitations of a single touchpoint. Today’s connected consumers expect an omnichannel shopping experience, including online ordering, curbside pickup, delivery, self-checkout, scan-and-go, and contactless payment options.

Supermarket brands need to have an omnichannel approach to meet customer expectations, including convenience, speed, and efficiency. For instance, while a customer is exploring store aisles physically, they should have the option to interact with the store digitally and even complete the transaction using the store’s mobile app.

Consumers’ data is recorded and stored to provide a personalized experience with product recommendations and deals. When consumers create an online account, their purchasing habits are used to tailor relevant deals, ads, and offers. In the absence of an online account, consumer data is tied to a loyalty card.

Technology also allows retailers to alert customers when stocks of the items they regularly purchase are low or when an item is back in stock. Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, will notify you based on your ordering history if you are running low on a particular product, tell you how much it is, and ask you if you would like it added to your cart.

Grocery delivery services became popular during the pandemic. Now that we can go back to a physical store, many consumers have become accustomed to using delivery apps like Instacart for their convenience, speed, and seamless service. You can also watch your groceries transported to your doorstep with the app’s live map view.

Sustainability is also coming into the picture with an increasing number of younger generations that prefer buying from eco-friendly companies. Zero, a Los Angeles-based startup, is an example of an eco-friendly brand that delivers groceries in sustainable packaging.

The future of retail is hybrid with an Omni-channel approach and connected experiences across touch-points.

As customers jump across several channels when they shop, retailers need to engage with where their customers are via digital channels.

Leveraging shopping behaviours, personalisation, user experience (UX), and integration will be critical for retail success. This will help retailers engage with their customers at various touchpoints —physical stores, sites, apps, and significantly improve the shopping experience.

Retailers also need to factor in social media networks, messaging apps, voice assistants, mobile devices, and other new channels to capture their customers’ attention and engage with them. Consumers expect incredibly personalized and relevant content.

Challenges in the connected technology space and how brands can use these as opportunities to grow

During the pandemic, the older, less tech-savvy generations also adapted to connected technology and enjoyed the benefits of staying connected with friends and family. Brands should no longer ignore this segment’s needs and may need to provide more in-depth onboarding help and tech support.

Now that people are back to in-person, they will continue using these devices and technologies in and out of the home, in the new normal. There will be a need for interconnectivity across the house, car, and mobile devices will be critical moving forward.

The industry faces many challenges, including data security, privacy concerns, continuous innovation and iteration, a massive load on the network and wifi issues, theft, loss, and damage.

Here are ways in which brands can overcome such challenges:

Provide extended warranty
Put customers first
Provide multiple customer-service options
Insurance against theft, loss, and damage
Provide on-demand tech support
Help with digital identity protection
Allow trade-in offers to swap your old device for a new one at a discount
Continuously upgrade technology

What does the future hold for connected technology?

In a digital-first world, physical fitness studios and stores are still appealing. Physical stores that embraced this reality are thriving. They have gone above and beyond to offer a hybrid approach and have elevated the in-store experience. There is also a preference for in-store shopping in older generations versus younger ones.

The pandemic played a massive role in speeding up the adoption of digital-first behaviors. Now that we know consumers expect a hybrid world where digital meets offline, brands can play a role in pushing innovation and further improving customer experiences across touchpoints and channels. With a goldmine of integrated customer data, they can offer a personalized and relevant experience in a hyper-connected consumer world.

How market research can aid brands in the connected technology space

For brands aiming to disrupt the market with the next “new” thing in connected technology, it is vital to know how consumers will respond to it before going to market. Market research can provide the valuable data, and insights brands need to take action.

Brands have several critical decisions regarding target markets and audiences, price, distribution channels, promotion, and product features. How can brands bring new product lines to market without proper knowledge? The good news is market research provides unique methodologies tailor-made to capture purposeful information to inform those decisions.

Market research allows brands to collect relevant information about market needs and customer preferences, impacting every aspect of the business, product, and brand. Backed by this information, brands understand the choices and behaviors of their potential customers. Therefore, their products can meet their customers’ needs and reduce the risk of an experience gap between the company and its products or services. The experience gap is essentially the gap between what the customers expect/ want and what the companies give them.

Market research is used for product testing and development. Effective market research uses a diverse population to test a given product and ensures it works for everyone in the target market. Brands also use market research for brand name testing, concept testing, messaging and campaign testing, branding, and logo testing, and pricing testing, to name a few.

For brands in the connected technology space that are often under high pressure to quickly produce and iterate high-quality products with an enhanced customer experience in a competitive market, the importance of market research cannot be overstated.

Brands in connected technology need to utilize a comprehensive testing strategy beyond traditional product and messaging testing. Market research can study the preferences and User Experience (UX) throughout all touchpoints within the customer journey.

For instance, connected technology brands can use market research to ensure customers are surveyed on current technologies and UX and online shopping cart abandonment. Likewise, the data from connected tech can (with permission) provide a goldmine of information about specific market segments, which can inform better decisions based on hard facts rather than gut feelings or assumptions.

For smart product companies, it is also essential to make sure all their products connect seamlessly to make their customers’ lives easier and more comfortable. Therefore, market research is utilized to make sure the product works and connects with other smart products to enhance the customer’s life.

Connected technology became popular before the pandemic. The pandemic only accelerated its adoption. The rise of connected consumers across the globe has led to connected technology trends across industries. As brands navigate the challenges of wifi capabilities and data privacy, they are continually innovating and iterating smart, connected products that are relevant and user-friendly.

We don’t need a crystal ball to make this prediction: the future belongs to a connected world.

Learn more about how Kadence International’s Marketing Research is driving growth for leading technology companies here.

The significant strides in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are reinventing the market research industry by addressing cost and time issues. As for the process and application, AI makes market research less labourious, faster, and more accurate. Machine Learning reduces the time to complete projects from weeks and months to hours and days. Algorithms make the job less cumbersome and more cost-effective.

What is Text Analytics, and what are its uses?

One of the newest trends and developments in market research is Text Analytics. Text analytics is a qualitative research method used to uncover the whole story behind the data so organisations can make better, more informed decisions. It refers to the automated process of extracting and translating information, insights, patterns, and trends from large volumes of unstructured text and data. This is done through text analytics software that uses Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms to pull valuable information and meaning from unstructured text.

This text and data consist of open-ended feedback in text form, like emails, survey responses, product reviews, call center notes, and social media posts.

Can you imagine how tedious and time-consuming it would be to pull information and deep insights from such voluminous, unstructured text at scale?

Text analytics helps market researchers examine large amounts of information and data in real-time to track consumers’ sentiments and detect potential brand reputation issues before they become serious.

Text analytics also helps diagnose product issues and provide more profound insights like identifying patterns or trends. It aids in comprehending a negative spike in the customer experience, assists in collating and interpreting customer conversations from various online sources, and helps monitor an advertising campaign’s messaging and how it is being received.

Brands increasingly use text analytics to offer actionable insights that inform sound decision-making. It also enables organisations to examine vast amounts of data at scale, increase efficiencies and reduce time, labour, and costs.

According to Mordor, “The global text analytics market was valued at USD 5.46 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 14.84 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 17.35 percent.”

Companies use text analysis to help improve their customer, employee, product, user, and brand experience. Many cloud-based applications use text analysis for predictive studies, cybercrime, business intelligence (BI), and fraud management, to name a few.

The Difference Between Text Mining and Text Analysis

It is essential not to confuse text mining with text analysis as they are similar in process and methodologies but have very different applications.

Text mining uses statistical methodologies to extract quantifiable information from unstructured text, used for applications like fraud detection and screening of job applicants.

Text analysis has a more business and experience management focus that uses similar methodologies as text mining but uses the information to uncover trends, patterns, and sentiment to sweeten customer, product, brand, or employee experience.

So how does text analysis measure sentiment in the absence of language and tone?

Market research companies use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze sentiment from the text so they can decode the emotion, feeling, or context behind blocks of plain text. NLP uses language processing algorithms to evaluate sentiment without any bias.

Brand and Market Research applications of Text Analytics

Text analytics is used in the field of Experience Management (XM), and it is widely used in the following four main areas:

Customer Experience

Customer experience uses technology like Machine Learning to provide intelligence around the customer or user experience across all touchpoints. This allows brands to enhance the customer experience by making informed decisions based on the findings.

Product Experience

Text analysis provides feedback on the features that need improvement and those that need to be added in future updates. Product usage data and warranty information enable brands to invest in their customers’ most used and valued elements and features, reducing costs and boosting profits.

Brand Experience

Text analytics collates data from multiple online sources to identify conversations around the brand. It is also used to analyze how effective marketing campaigns are and how the brand messaging resonates with the target audience—other data points like campaign reach, spending, and customer acquisition impact Return On Investment (ROI). It helps measure the overall brand experience.

Employee Experience

Employee wellbeing and work-life balance issues have recently come to the forefront, and text analytics helps provide real-time reports and data around topics that concern employees. Employee attrition has always been a challenge for most organisations, and text analytics combines data around engagement scores to tackle employee attrition and boost employee retention and satisfaction.

Armed with good text analytics software and research methodology, brands can arm themselves with the ability to identify and monitor patterns and trends over time. Text analytics helps deliver insights to build a deeper understanding to win over target audiences.

The Internet changed our lives forever. And now, the Internet of Things is transforming our lives yet again.

In recent years, we have seen several significant developments in technology. While these developments were already at play, the pandemic gave a big push and further accelerated the pace of adoption.

In today’s connected consumer world, the physical world meets the digital world, and these two worlds cooperatively interact. Big data, analytics, and mobile technologies allow objects and devices to share and collect data over an interconnected network and with little human intervention.

The benefits of using IoT are reduced costs, augmented productivity and efficiencies, and increased convenience. Ultimately, IoT is beneficial for brands and market researchers as it provides them with a wealth of information on consumer habits that they can utilise to increase their profitability.

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Definition of the Internet of Things (IoT)

According to Oracle, “the Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet.”

Simply, IoT is when the products we use every day connect to the Internet and each other.

Internet of Things (IoT) goes beyond consumer products and permeates many other industries.

In recent years, one of the most significant developments in the Industrial Revolution is Industry 4.0, and it all began in the manufacturing sector.

What is Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 focuses on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data in the manufacturing industry.

It allows manufacturers to maximise production and improve distribution, transportation, and product development.

Industry 4.0 is the convergence of state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with the Internet of Things, which results in innovative, interconnected techniques that can communicate, analyze, and employ data to improve decision-making. This ultimately leads to optimizing, connecting, and automating operations.

Industry 4.0 was mostly restricted to the manufacturing industry in its early days but has expanded to benefit other sectors, like warehousing, logistics, and distribution.

Let’s delve into the opportunities for connected tech in other industries:

Healthcare

According to 1Mordor, “the connected medical device market is expected to register a CAGR of 18.92% over the forecast period from 2022 to 2027.” The same report showed the Asia Pacific region as the fastest growing market and North America as the largest market.

Connected tech in healthcare is known as Connected Care. It is defined as the real-time, electronic communication between a patient and a medical provider, using digital tools such as remote patient monitors, telehealth, wearable technology, secure messaging, and mobile apps, to name a few.

It is estimated remote monitoring for healthcare could be worth USD 1.1 trillion by 2025.

Wearable technologies hold a significant share of this market as they provide real-time data so health care providers can help patients in remote locations. They provide convenience and cost-effectiveness by reducing multiple visits to the doctor’s office. With cardiac-related devices expected to be worth USD 800 billion by 2030, there is a massive opportunity for healthcare brands in the cardiac segment for wearables.

COVID-19 has impacted and accelerated the growth of this market. The pandemic brought about new ways of interacting with doctors remotely due to the nature of the pandemic and pressure on health systems and infrastructure.

While there are data security risks involved, wearables can detect cardiac arrhythmia conditions causing stroke and allow neurologists to diagnose seizures from remote locations; the benefits of these products far outweigh any risks.

Agriculture

According to Statista, the global market size of smart agriculture is expected to grow to USD 34.1 billion by 2026.

Connected tech in farming utilises sensors installed in plots or livestock farms. They help collect data, such as soil moisture and plant vigor, which is used to monitor the health of the crop or herd.

With environmental factors in play, the growing demand for food, constraints on the supply side, and changing consumption patterns, agriculture faces enormous challenges. While we have seen massive improvements in equipment and technology in the past five decades, a digital transformation using connected tech will lead us closer to sustainable solutions.

However, digitization in agriculture faces obstacles. In many regions of the world, connectivity is an issue. In areas where connectivity exists, the adoption of digital tools has been relatively slow.

Therefore, we need to develop infrastructure to enable the use of connectivity. In areas where connectivity already exists, we must take the necessary steps to promote and encourage adoption.

In addition to offering more effective production methods, higher quality food, and more transparency for consumers, smart agriculture can create sustainable production methods that save water, which lessens the impact on the environment and reduces production costs.

Inventory & Supply Chain Management

IoT devices help companies provide enhanced inventory monitoring capabilities and location tracking, leading to increased storage and distribution efficiencies. Companies can figure out where goods are delayed during transportation.

With IoT data analytics at their fingertips, supply chain managers can plan better routes based on potential weather hazards, accidents, and road conditions.

Finance

IoT is the coolest kid on the finance block. It provides a network of internet-connected devices that collect and transmit data.

As banking goes digital, consumers enjoy more convenience in the usual banking processes. Banks can leverage technology to know the needs of their customers in real-time. IoT financial technology software can increasingly collect more data about transactions using built-in Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), enhancing efficiencies, security, and fraud protection.

Retail

IoT technologies help brands track products throughout their supply chain by utilizing GPS and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This allows brands to monitor and track where their products are at any given time and predict a more accurate delivery time.

In a world of connected consumers, where they expect brands to be intuitive and relevant, IoT helps brands make deeper connections with their consumers by identifying unique behaviours and having the ability to offer what consumers want —when they want it.

How the IoT is Impacting Market Research

As discussed above, IoT is important to both consumers and businesses in almost every industry.

So what does this goldmine of data mean for market research?

Big Data has daily implications for consumers, businesses, and market researchers. The application of data plays a massive role in market research surveys, and so do data processing and analysis. With market research becoming more digital in data collection and analysis, traditional methods are not enough anymore. Therefore, IoT helps market researchers stay abreast of consumer habits and behaviour.

Furthermore, IoT data is more accurate, reliable, and valuable to market researchers.

It is estimated that, by 2030, roughly 125 billion devices will be connected to the Internet and used daily. Moreover, 5G connections enable the usage of connected devices more than ever before.
Since there is a growing market for IoT, wearables, and smart technology, consumer feedback is a critical resource to help brands adopt the most compelling business, sales, and marketing strategies to maximise their return on investment.

Ultimately, the winning brands will not be the ones with the best, most innovative technology but the ones that have the perfect combination of innovation and ongoing customer behaviour analysis. This is where the role of market research cannot be ignored.

Four Ways IoT Impacts Market ResearchTracking consumer behaviour

Tracking consumer behaviour
IoT is a network of smart, connected devices that work through the Internet. The data is no longer just available on smartphones and computers but encompasses smart appliances, wearable technology, automobiles, and smart, interconnected devices. In a hyperconnected, digital-first world, the data provides a wealth of sights into consumer habits and behaviours.
Analyzing consumer behaviour
The business world is changing at warp speed, with older forms of consumer engagement becoming obsolete. Companies need to move with digitally empowered consumers and adopt digital data collection and analysis. IoT is an invaluable and more accurate tool for monitoring a product’s performance and consumer behaviour, preference, and attitude toward a product. IoT can inform brands on how and where they can improve their product and message.
Predicting behaviour analysis to sell when consumers are ready
IoT enables brands to know when consumers need something, benefiting brands and researchers. For instance, a smart car can predict when the oil change is due on a vehicle, carrying essential consumer data and information. This can be used to advertise locations that offer the service. Therefore, it boosts sales.
Offering tailored experiences
By integrating data analytics into their operations, brands can offer more tailored experiences and obtain information on consumer behaviour. Market research is beneficial here. For instance, in 2013, Disney World introduced the MagicBand. These wearable devices collect a wealth of data from hotel bookings, restaurants, and popular rides. Disney World can enable tailored offers using this data on behaviour by utilizing predictive analytics.

Technology and consumer behaviour have drastically transformed in the last two decades. IoT provides data that can help market researchers understand consumers and their habits better than ever before, thereby enabling them to provide reports and analyses to brands that contain accurate, unbiased, action-oriented information free from human error.

Data is at the heart of all research, and marketing research is no exception. It is the eyes and ears for a brand’s marketing initiatives. The data you gather — and its quality — will make a massive difference to how successful your research is, how accurate your findings are, and the impact on your business goals and strategies.

As a result, data collection is arguably the most critical market research stage. It can make or break the rest of the process, so it’s vital to do everything you can to make this stage run smoothly and successfully.

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into why data collection matters in marketing research, the different types of data you should focus on, and all the options available to you when it comes to collecting that data. Let’s start by defining what data collection means.

What is data collection in market research?

Data collection entails gathering all the necessary raw information for your market research. Some people also extend the definition to include analysing that data to extract valuable insights for your research objectives.

It is a detailed, planned search process for all relevant data made by a researcher for a hypothesis.

The most critical purpose of data collection in market research is to ensure that reliable data is collected for statistical analysis so brands can make decisions backed by rich data. Therefore, your data must be high-quality, relevant, and plentiful enough to draw meaningful insights.

Why data collection is so important?

Data collection is a critical step in the research process, often the primary step. You can analyse and store essential information about your existing and potential customers when you collect data. This process saves your organisation money and resources, as you can make data-driven decisions. Data collection also allows you to create a library or database of customers (and their information) for marketing to them in the future or retargeting them.

Three main uses of data collection in market research:

Data collection helps you make informed decisions and analyses, building complete and insightful market research reports that can drive future product launches, market-entry campaigns, marketing strategies, and more. Data collection is the foundational step for various activities that can lead to business growth.
Data collection allows you to build a database of information about your market for future use. While your primary goal might be to create a research report with a specific objective, the data can still be helpful for future activities.
Data collection allows you to target marketing and outreach more efficiently, thereby allowing your organisation to save money and do more with its resources.

The different types of data collection in marketing research

There are several different types of data to consider at this stage — let’s examine them more closely.

We can break down data into two main categories, which makes it easier to understand the types of data we want to focus on and helps us hone in on the research methods and channels that will be most useful.

Primary data

Primary data is collected directly by your researchers, specifically for your research purposes. This data is primarily collected from interviews, surveys, focus groups, and experiments. In other words, this data did not exist before your team collected it.

Secondary data

Secondary data refers to data that already existed before you started your research. Other researchers have already collected and compiled this data before. You can find this type of data in places like government reports, the analysis of other businesses, polls and surveys, and the work of NGOs. It’s typically cheaper and easier to obtain than your primary data, but it won’t be as relevant to your project.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is usually the first step in data collection. It’s more textual than statistical and involves collecting non-numerical data like interview transcripts, video recordings, and survey responses.

Qualitative data is typically collected via first-hand observation through focus groups, interviews, and ethnography. It is a way of diving deep into ideas and concepts, allowing researchers to learn more about specific topics that may not be well understood.

Quantitative Research

Where qualitative research is relatively more text-based, quantitative research focuses on numbers and statistics. This data is expressed in charts, graphs, and tables and is typically used to test initial findings.

Methods used to collect quantitative data include more closed-ended survey questions, mobile surveys, and Likert scales. The main benefit of this type of data is that it allows researchers to make more broad generalisations and predictions, but it’s not well-suited for diving deep into particular questions.

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How data collection in marketing research works

There are many steps involved in the data collection process. Some of these steps begin even before you start collecting data.

Prior steps

There are several steps you should take before your data collection begins, such as:

・ Make sure you have all the necessary permission to collect your data. Today, data privacy laws are stronger than ever, so researchers need to take extra care to comply with regulations and have the full consent of their subjects and participants. It’s best to work with a legal compliance team to draft all the required documents, forms, and contracts to share with your research participants from the very beginning.

・ Make sure you have the support of any company decision-makers and stakeholders. It may be helpful at this stage to prepare a preliminary report informing any higher-ups of your plans, goals, sources, and any methods you plan to use.

・ Try to predict and pre-empt any possible challenges or problems, such as privacy regulations, collection methods, infrastructure, or budget. Anticipating any issues now will help you avoid costly problems and make the whole process run more smoothly.

・ Put together a team of skilled and qualified researchers and analysts. Data collection can be a difficult task, and you need to have the right experience and skillsets on your team.

Decide on your data collection methods.

The next stage is to decide which data collection methods you will use to collect data for your marketing research report. You will likely employ various methods here, as each has unique pros and cons. Here are the main methods you should consider:

・ Surveys

There are many ways to conduct surveys — in-person, online, post, email, mobile message, others. Surveys differ in content and structure — from simple Likert scales with just five possible numerical responses to more qualitative open-ended questions.

・ Focus groups

Focus groups allow you to bring multiple participants together to discuss the subject of your research and share their opinions. This format can be a great way to brainstorm ideas, and people can often bring good ideas out of each other. To get the best results, everyone should get a chance to speak, and no one person should dominate the group.

・ Interviews

One-to-one interviews are the best ways to dive deep into a person’s opinions about your brand or a specific product. However, they can be time-consuming and may require much planning.

・Observation and experimental research

This type of data collection involves observing individuals as they interact with specific products or services. It helps get around certain biases that people might have in interviews and surveys and cut right through to their true thoughts. However, it isn’t easy and requires an expert touch to get it right.

Identify and prepare for common challenges with data collection.

During the data collection process, you’re likely to encounter several challenges. The good news is that you can avoid these challenges and mitigate any impacts on your research report with proper preparation.

Here’s what to look out for:

・Bad methodology results in poor quality data

A lot can go wrong with your data collection methods — badly identified participants, poorly designed questions, and choosing the wrong methods are just a few examples. This can result in poor quality data, leading to erroneous conclusions and an unsuccessful research report. Take the time to work with experienced researchers and build the right data collection strategy for your needs.

・Logistical challenges

You will also come across many logistical challenges. For instance, you’ll need a big venue to hold everyone if you’re running a focus group. If you want to conduct a stream of interviews, you’ll need to hire a space for a particular time. You may need to arrange transport, refreshments, and a wide range of other logistical demands. If you fail to plan this properly in advance, your team could find itself in a highly stressful situation.

・Using the proper channels

The channels you use to connect with your audience are consequential — what works well for one demographic might completely fail for another. If you choose the wrong media (like Twitter to send surveys to an older demographic), you could have a poor response rate and lack usable data.

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How to collect data effectively

Get to know your audience.

You will need to have an intimate and deep understanding of your audience and the people you collect data from. This will ensure you target the right people, ask the appropriate questions, choose the correct methods and channels, and analyse the data in the proper contexts.

There are many ways to get to know your audience better in advance of data collection:

・ Use social media to spend time in the same spaces and groups as your audience members, chat with them, and find out who they are and what makes them tick.

・ Work with your sales and marketing teams — it’s their job to understand your audience, and they’ll have access to valuable insights.

・ Look at who is using your competitors’ brands and products.

Once you understand whom you target, it often helps create detailed user personas, outlining details about your typical audience members like their age groups, income brackets, and education levels. You can then use this information to tailor your data collection strategy to be relevant and valuable.

Prepare for the analysis of your data.

Collecting data is one thing, but you should always have an eye on the analysis of that data. This is where you extract insights and draw tangible value from the data — allowing you to make informed business decisions and create a valuable and applicable market research report.

When planning your collection methods and recording the results, always remember that someone will be analysing this data. Be organised, clear, and detailed, and work with your analysts to ensure they are aligned with your approach.

Use a wide range of methods and channels.

The best data collection relies on various tools and channels instead of focusing on just one or two. By combining a number of the approaches mentioned in this article, you will connect with a broader part of your market, gaining a better understanding of how different demographics feel and leading to a more valuable and insightful analysis.

For example, if you focus solely on digital channels like social media and online surveys, your responses may skew heavily towards younger people. Some in-person interviews, focus groups, and postal surveys help target a broader range of age groups and accurately reflect your market and their views.

Data collection is a critical part of market research. It serves many important purposes, and it is essential to get it right to create effective research reports and complete a vast range of different business objectives.

At Kadence, we help companies worldwide fine-tune their data collection, laying the foundations for informed and effective market research.

Data collection comes with a host of unique challenges, and one of the most significant considerations for researchers is the topic of ethics in market research. It is essential to think about the ethical implications of your market research — are you collecting data in the right way without infringing on other people’s right to privacy, security, and the control of their data?

Before you start your data collection work, you need to ensure everyone on the team is aligned and understands their ethical responsibilities. Failing to do this could result in legal woes, a damaged company reputation, and other serious problems.

This article will show you why ethics are so important in data collection, what you need to be aware of, and how to ensure your data collection always falls on the right side of what’s considered ethical.

What are ethics in data collection?

What exactly do we mean when we talk about ethical data collection? Let’s delve into the definition to clear any misconceptions and ensure the rest of the article makes sense.

Data collection ethics is all about the right and wrong in collecting, analysing, processing, and sharing data.

This article will focus on data collection for market research purposes. The data we’re talking about here mainly refers to the personal data of our research participants.

Ethics has been an essential consideration for as long as we’ve been collecting data. By understanding it, you can ensure that the data you collect and the research you produce is ethically sound, respects the rights of your subjects, and avoids landing you in legal trouble.

Why are ethical considerations so important for data collection?

There are several key guidelines market researchers have to follow so they can adhere to ethical norms when it comes to data collection, such as:

・If you prioritise ethics, it usually results in better research.

When you care about the truth, accuracy, and minimising errors, your findings will be more reliable and lead to more valuable conclusions, benefiting your business.

・If you take ethics seriously, it shows that your brand is trustworthy and has integrity.

Conversely, suppose you’re violating ethical norms with your research; this will reflect very poorly on your reputation and (among other things) make it tough to find future participants for market research.

・You want to stay on the right side of the law.

Today there are more data privacy regulations than ever before, like Europe’s GDPR and California’s CCPA. Unethical data collection can lead to legal trouble and harsh financial penalties.

Guidelines: How to ensure your data collection is ethical.

Follow the guidelines detailed below to ensure your data collection is ethical.

Always obtain the proper consent.

When you collect data for market research, you’re using the personal data of your participants. When someone answers survey questions, takes part in an interview or focus group, or participates in an experiment, the data they share with you is protected by law in many jurisdictions.

From an ethical standpoint, an individual’s data is their personal property. As a result, you have to ensure you have the right to collect and use that data. Make sure to draft a consent agreement that informs your participants about your research and clearly outlines how you intend to use their data. This refers to asking for informed consent — in other words, your participants should know what they’re consenting to instead of being asked to give a blanket agreement.

In short, always get explicit consent from your research subjects before you collect or use any of their data, and always make sure they are given all the facts upfront about how you will use it. This is one area to work with an experienced legal team.

Always be clear about privacy and confidentiality.

You should be clear from the beginning about how private and confidential your participant’s data will be. For example, when publishing a market research report, will you use the names of your subjects or provide any information that could be linked back to their identity? If so, it’s essential to let them know before you collect any data.

You also need to consider technical capabilities in this area. Are your systems secure enough, or are they vulnerable to hacks and data breaches? You can still be legally punished if you lose sensitive user data due to a cyberattack in many cases.

Personally identifiable information (PII) covers many different data types, like a person’s full name, address, credit card information, or identification number.

Avoid bias.

As an experienced researcher will tell you — it’s all too easy to rig research in your favour. Wording specific questions in a certain way, focusing on some areas over others, guiding your subject in a particular direction with verbal nudges and body language — all these things can impact the result of your research.

This isn’t just unethical; it also leads to less accurate data. Pushing your research subjects towards specific answers might fulfill short-term goals, but in the long-term, it leads to a poorer understanding of your market and a shaky foundation for future research. Ensure all your moderators and researchers are aware of this and trained to avoid even subconsciously leading people in a specific direction.

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Nine ways to reduce bias in your market research

1. Minimise confirmation bias.

It’s common for teams to embark on a research project with a clear idea of what they want to discover. Maybe you want to know that all your participants love your planned products, your latest marketing campaign is destined for success, or a specific demographic is a big fan of your brand.

This can lead to confirmation bias, where researchers hone in on answers they like and gloss over ones that don’t support their favourite hypothesis, leading to skewed results that sound encouraging at first but ultimately don’t benefit the company. Be aware that your expected or desired outcome may not happen, and train your research teams to be level-headed and impartial.

2. Be aware of question order bias.

Question order bias is when the order of your questions can influence participants to give a specific answer or be more favourable to a particular idea. For example, if you ask the following questions:

What do you like about the new iPhone?
Can you give an example of a great tech company?

Here, the participant is already thinking about iPhones and Apple after the first question, and this could lead them to give a similar answer to question two, even if they might have said something else had the order of questions been different. Be aware of the order of your questions, and always try to word them as neutrally as possible.

3. Be transparent about your data collection methods.

When you publish your research, you should make your methodology available to anyone who wants to read it. Be clear about what data collection methods and sources you used, whom you spoke to (being careful to avoid sharing personally identifiable information), your goals, the sample size, how you selected participants, and more. This helps people check your findings’ accuracy and shows that you’re credible and professional.

If there are any limitations or anything you’re uncertain about, disclose this. Don’t state something as a clear fact when it isn’t. Certain parts of your findings might need future research to confirm them, and you should clearly state this.

4. Maintain integrity

It may seem obvious, but it’s paramount to collect data with honest intentions and hold yourself to these standards. If you collect data for reasons that might negatively impact others, this is unethical, even if your collection methods and other factors are legitimate.

Make sure the questions you ask are relevant to your research goals. Asking questions — particularly personal ones — about your subjects that don’t inform your research is unethical.

5. Don’t cause harm to your participants.

You should always identify and avoid anything in your research process that could cause harm to your subjects. This could be physical harm — for example, asking participants to sample food to which they may be allergic — or emotional trauma, like asking people to revisit uncomfortable memories or placing them in situations where they might not feel at ease.

Anything that could harm your participants in any way is unethical. Make sure they understand the process from the beginning, regularly check in on them, and be sure to disclose anything that could potentially cause problems.

6. Don’t waste people’s time.

Your participants are busy people. They don’t have vast amounts of time to dedicate to your research, and they’re helping you out by agreeing to take part. Be respectful of your participants’ time and don’t keep them waiting longer than necessary. Aim to keep your research process tightly organised and always inform people about delays and other time constraints as soon as possible.

7. Be aware of unexpected outcomes.

Even the most meticulously conducted research can sometimes have unexpected consequences. It can be deemed unlawful if individuals suffer harm due to your study.

As a result, you need to take extra care to anticipate and prevent any unexpected adverse outcomes from your research. You won’t know for sure until the study is published, but you can minimise the chances of unintended consequences by being cautious and diligent.

8. Correct errors.

It’s normal for research to contain one or two errors. In itself, that’s not unethical, nor does it necessarily mean your research isn’t valuable. However, it is imperative to correct the mistakes as quickly as possible and edit your research report to make this clear.

If you don’t correct errors when you become aware of them, this is unethical as you’re knowingly publishing misleading information.

9. Work with an experienced research team.

The best way to ensure your data collection is ethical is to work with a team of experts. Research professionals understand the ins and outs of data ethics, and they know what to do and what to avoid. They also have an in-depth and current understanding of the legal aspects of market research. At Kadence, we have years of experience helping companies worldwide conduct market research, and ethics is always a priority. Get in touch with us to find out more.

Businesses strive daily to provide what customers want. Their success depends mainly on how well they understand the needs and motivations of their target audience.

In the past, this frequently translated into a scattershot approach to meeting customer demands—build more products, design more features, and so on—with, at best, a goal of growing sales.

But this slapdash strategy occasionally resulted in overspending, overcommitment of resources, and other strains on business operations that could threaten the business’s existence.

The organised process of data collection in market research has changed all that. Now the focus is on collecting and analyzing high-quality data—information relevant to meeting customer demands—and how this data is obtained. The goal is the “systematic method of collecting and measuring data gathered from different sources of information,” as Medium notes, adding that an “accurate evaluation of collected data can help researchers predict future phenomenon and trends.”

Broadly speaking, there are two chief forms of data:

Primary data refers to first-hand information gathered straight from a primary source.
Secondary data encompasses information found in public records, trend reports, market statistics, etc.

Armed with high-quality data, businesses can better understand their prospective customers—what they want, what they already like, where they conduct their research, and much more. Companies come away with a deeper grasp of their markets, how their products will benefit that market, and the potential challenges they may face later.

At its best, market research offers a blueprint of how a brand can move forward while avoiding the pitfalls it might otherwise encounter (without the benefit of high-quality data).

It’s helpful to remember that a wealth of relevant data may already exist in your company. Information gleaned from business analytics and customer service scores offer vital insights into why consumers act the way they do. It’s an excellent place to begin research and avoid any duplication in data mining.

What sources of data collection work best? What should brands know about the methodologies employed to acquire and measure such data?

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The Value of Quantitative and Qualitative Data

Within the broader scope of primary and secondary data, there are other aspects of data collection worth noting:

Quantitative research relies on hard facts and numerical data to gain an objective view of consumer opinion. In general, this approach focuses on uncovering insights about large groups of consumers or the population as a whole. It enables brands to easily compare purchasing and other behaviours of different groups (age, gender, market) and to identify potential buying trends on the horizon.

Qualitative research is less concerned with statistics and trends and more focused on the “human” aspect of buying. This research digs deep into the more intangible and subjective reasons why customers behave the way they do.

As we have noted before, “People are complex and often unpredictable,” so qualitative research “means getting to know your customers and their motivations better.” As a result, brands can more effectively study customer pain points and barriers to consumer use while also guiding the way to a more personalised approach to marketing.

Where Qualitative Data Comes From

So, what are the sources of data collection? Here’s a quick rundown:

Focus groups. A group consisting of a small number of customers (usually no more than 15) meets to discuss a specific issue. Information derived from this approach often leads to rich insights around consumer attitudes and behaviours, underlying motivations, and perceptions about a brand.

One-to-one, in-depth interviews. Researchers talk to consumers directly, seeking to understand participant opinions better. This method can be in the form of face-to-face interviews and phone or online interviews.

Expert interviews. Industry experts are another rich source of data collection. Leveraging their knowledge through expert interviews can help brands explore the impact of emerging trends, thus helping to “future-proof” their business.

Ethnography. In this realm, researchers immerse themselves in customers’ worlds to learn more about the role brands and products play in their daily lives. This can entail visiting consumers and accompanying them as they go about their day or through self-ethnography, where consumers take on video tasks to show us how they live.

Online communities. Through an online platform, consumers undertake individual or group tasks that enable researchers to explore potentially sensitive issues and better grasp the attitudes and values that lead to that all-important decision to purchase a product or service.

The personalized focus of qualitative research goes hand-in-hand with more quantitative research methods, adding context and depth to more numerical and data-based metrics.

Survey Research Plays a Key Role

Sending out surveys is another key method for drawing insights to understand target customers or explore a new market. Surveys can be conducted in a variety of ways, including:

Email. This approach offers the benefit of reaching many people at an affordable cost.

Phone. Phone surveys are helpful for researchers seeking feedback from a particular demographic, i.e., older consumers who may not use online resources.

Post. Postal surveys are another option, though of increasingly limited use. Prohibitive costs and a long time lag for responses often rule out this approach.

In-person. This method is useful when researchers want to know more about how consumers physically interact with a product or a similar situation. Again, the costs and logistics of this approach make it a less appealing process in general.

These days, online surveys are often the primary method for collecting quantitative data. Existing customers can complete online surveys or respondents sourced from online panels (groups of people matching a brand’s target market who agree to participate in online research). Based on the results, brands can build accurate representative samples and extrapolate findings to the broader population.

When it comes to quantitative research, survey questions usually include closed rather than open questions. For example, a survey participant being asked, “How satisfied are you with our delivery policy?” would be restricted to answers such as “Very satisfied/Satisfied/Don’t Know/Dissatisfied/Very Dissatisfied.” This method generates data that can be categorized and analyzed in a quantitative, numbers-driven way.

How Technology Facilitates Data Collection

Social media has emerged as a valuable source for insights into consumer perceptions and behaviours. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others have potentially vast data reservoirs on a target audience.

On social media, consumers provide direct, unfiltered feedback about their needs, emotions, pain points, and hopes for the future. These platforms offer a relatively easy and inexpensive way to share surveys and questionnaires and enlist participants for upcoming focus groups.

In this respect, “social listening” offers an expedient method of gauging customer sentiment—what they like and don’t like about the buying experiences, preferences regarding how a purchase is made, and so on.

Technology also makes it possible for researchers to dramatically expand their horizons, connecting with audiences in far-flung areas of a brand’s home country and around the world. Researchers can conduct real-time interviews and focus groups with consumers in multiple time zones using tools like Zoom and Skype. In this way, data collection for international research often yields a more powerful and richer understanding of consumer behaviour.

Working with a Research Partner

It’s crucial to remember that every customer group is different. Some brands have a strong command of their markets and may conduct research on their own.

For many other brands, partnering with a professional research firm is the best approach to broad-based marketing research. At Kadence, we draw upon our extensive toolkit of qualitative and quantitative methodologies for a deep understanding of the needs of these under-served communities. The result is:

More productive research
Valuable insights into different demographics
Gaining a step on the competition

By bringing companies closer to their customers, a third-party research firm can embed rich understanding across your organisation and promote more effective, customer-centric decision-making. This understanding often leads to more informed marketing strategies and greater success with untapped consumer populations.

As soon as you think you understand market research, something brand new comes along to challenge everything you thought you knew. With the rapid evolution of technology, those moments seem to be happening more than ever.

Today’s market research campaign looks very different from how it would ten or even five years ago, and technology is one of the major driving forces behind the evolution of market research. Every year brings a slew of new tools, techniques, and platforms built to make research more accessible and more effective.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most important things that have changed in market research due to technology, and we’ll also explore what new changes could be lying in wait in the near future.

Market research technology: what has changed?

Over the last several years, there have been several significant technological changes that have impacted market research.

Technology has changed how industries operate, and market research is no exception. Advancements in technology have seen a rise in the self-service model, where brands can implement their own short surveys. But perhaps the most significant impact technology has had on the market research industry is agility. Market research technology allows researchers to quickly test, measure, and pivot projects.

Technology allows traditional research briefs to move past online surveys. For example, eye-tracking technology enables researchers to observe shoppers exhibiting their natural behaviours while walking around a real or virtual store, making note of fixation and gaze points. This can be highly revealing in usability studies, product and package testing, and shopping research.

Here are some of the main forces driving the evolution of market research.

It’s hard to believe that social media has only been around since the early 2000s. In the two decades since its inception, social media has transformed our lives, and market research is no exception.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more offer unique insights into your market and customers. These platforms are home to enormous reservoirs of data on your audience, providing unfiltered and direct feedback around how they’re feeling, what they want, their pain points, and hopes and desires. It’s also easier than ever to share surveys and questionnaires, collect attendees for focus groups, and much more.

Another benefit of social media is more accessible competitor analysis, allowing you to gain an easy glimpse into what other companies in your space are doing and saying, what marketing techniques they are using, and what’s working.

Observing customer behaviour

The explosion in personal technology devices like smartphones, IoT gadgets, Alexa, smart cars, and wearables make it far easier to observe the behaviour of your audience members and collect valuable insights in real-time. Even mobile apps can collect customer data and establish behaviour patterns.

Wearable technology is one of the most recent developments in this area. Gadgets like the Oura Ring, Fitbit, Apple Watch, Rayban stories, and much more allow researchers to observe customer behaviour as it takes place naturally in the real world. This gives a unique insight into how customers behave that can never be truly replicated in experimental conditions and can pick up on responses that customers themselves might not even notice.

Automation

It’s never been easier to analyze data and draw valuable conclusions, thanks to the vast leaps made in automation technology in recent years. The growing amount of audience data available to marketers can now be processed and analyzed much more efficiently, allowing you to gain valuable insights and learn as much as possible about your customers and how they behave.

Chatbots are another example of the power of automation in market research. These tools can ask questions and conduct basic surveys from social media apps and websites, allowing you to communicate with customers and collect valuable information in seconds without relying on time-consuming manual work by human staff.

Increased reliance on video and remote collaboration

Spurred on by the pandemic, video collaboration tools, and remote meetings have skyrocketed in popularity and ease of access. There are many advantages to this for market research, such as a shift away from in-person focus groups.

Researchers no longer need to hire a venue, convince large numbers of people to take the time out of their day to attend, employ multiple staff on the ground, and do all the other logistical tasks involved in a physical interview. Instead, the whole thing can occur via a Zoom call, saving enormous amounts of time and resources for both interviewer and interviewees. This also allows you to contact a much broader sample of participants without being bound by geographic location.

Reach much larger and more diverse audiences

Not so long ago, market researchers were confined to methods like postal surveys, local interview sessions, and phone calls. Technology — specifically the internet — has allowed researchers to radically expand their horizons, reaching audiences in far-flung parts of the country and even distant parts of the world.

It’s now easy to conduct real-time interviews and focus groups with people several timezones away, allowing companies to gain a much bigger and richer picture of their audiences. This is especially important for international market research but is also helpful to achieve a complete understanding of your audience as a whole.

Build richer buyer personas

As it becomes increasingly easier to collect data from your audience and analyze it in vast amounts, it becomes possible to build much richer and more detailed profiles for your audience members.

The buyer personas of the past were often vague, two-dimensional things, often built around vague generalizations and assumptions. The small amount of data available to researchers decades ago made it challenging to construct genuinely accurate and useful personas.

Today, with the enormous amount of data made available by technology and the internet, you can learn a lot about the people in your audience and build genuinely valuable and richly detailed buyer personas to inform your marketing decisions, product development, and much more.

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What the future holds for market research technology

As time goes on, market research will likely continue to evolve, driven by entirely new advancements in technology. Some of these developments will come as a surprise and may be unexpected side-effects of existing or planned technology. We can also predict some future trends based on what we already know.

Tools like AR and VR

Virtual reality and augmented reality open up a whole host of exciting new possibilities for market research. Both tools allow for much more interactive research where participants can use products and experience services in a completely immersive way without leaving their homes.

This makes it much easier to gauge responses, observe behaviour, and collect meaningful feedback without shipping large amounts of physical products to participants’ homes or asking them to travel to a research site.

One example is how Kadence worked with Asahi, using augmented reality to research a new packaging design. Participants used AR to generate models of beer bottles, allowing them to visualize what the bottle would look like in their own homes and provide more accurate and detailed feedback around specific details.

More use of voice assistants

Today, voice assistants are already popular, with tools like Siri and Alexa quickly becoming a central part of people’s everyday lives. These voice tools allow a unique insight into customers’ daily experience and behaviour, and if this data can be collected ethically, it has excellent value for market researchers.

More agility

Increased agility is a fascinating prospect for market researchers as technology advances. In the past, researchers were forced to take risky gambles instead of using a more flexible approach and making adjustments as needed.

With the ubiquity of data in today’s world, businesses can now take a more agile approach to market research, making quick and frequent changes and course corrections in response to the feedback they get from various channels. This trend could mark one of the most significant changes in how we conduct research over the coming years and suggests a step away from over-reliance on guesswork and individual opinion.

Technology has had an enormous impact on how businesses conduct market research, and as time goes on, that impact is likely to increase. The best thing market researchers and companies can do is be open-minded and prepared to embrace new technologies as they evolve.

At Kadence, we can help you harness all the newest and future technologies to conduct market research most productively and effectively, gaining valuable insights into your audience and getting ahead of the competition. Find out more.

A successful product is one that not only looks great but also solves a real problem. Ticking off both boxes requires understanding your customers’ motivations, goals, and behaviours—and user research is the best method for gaining those insights.

User studies are conducted in person traditionally, but it’s possible to accomplish the same goals in an online environment.

Remote user studies can provide rich data. They’re ideal if you work with a global audience, need alternatives due to lockdown or distancing requirements, or face budget and time constraints.

This article will examine how to conduct user studies in an online environment. We’ll discuss the benefits of usability studies, compare lab studies vs. online studies, and share essential research methods and tools.

What is a User Study?

User research is the study of target customers’ needs and their behaviours in achieving them. The aim is to uncover insights that will assist in designing products that best meet user expectations.

There are two broad categories of user research:

● Quantitative: What’s happening; measurable, numerical results (ex: how many people clicked a button?).

● Qualitative: Why it’s happening; motivations behind the behaviour (ex: why didn’t some people click a button?).

Researchers usually start with qualitative research to discover customer needs and motivations and test their initial designs using quantitative measures.

There are also two basic approaches to user research:

● Attitudinal: Listening to users’ words (ex: interviews, surveys).

● Behavioural: Watching their actions (ex: card sorting, usability testing).

The best user research applies quantitative and qualitative research and attitudinal and behavioural approaches.

The Benefits of Usability Testing

Used correctly, user research should lead to a product, service, or website that better meets the specific needs of your customers.

When people feel like you “get them,” they’re likely to:

● Buy more quickly the first time.

● Spend more money.

● Make more repeat purchases.

● Remain customers for longer.

● Tell others about your product, service, or website.

Increasing customer acquisition, retention, loyalty, and referrals will positively impact your bottom line. User studies can also improve ROI by minimizing design and development costs and reducing support calls.

The more complex your product, service, or website, the greater the risk of skipping user research.

Unfortunately, many companies bypass user studies. They don’t want to invest time or money, or believe they already know what their customers want.

Basing design on unvalidated assumptions can lead to wasting time, resources, and money on a product, service, or website that flops—and you won’t know if you’ve missed the mark until after launch.

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How to Conduct User Studies

While user studies are most effective and efficient when performed early in the development process, it’s never too late to conduct this type of research.

To begin, set concrete goals. What are you trying to learn? What do you want to understand about your users? What problem are you trying to solve? Write a research brief that asks straightforward questions that lead to definitive, measurable answers.

Next, choose your research method or methods wisely (more on the most common methodologies next). Don’t simply pick what you know best. Take time to consider which methods are most applicable to your specific project.

After completing the user studies, share your findings. The results are only helpful if clearly communicated with key stakeholders, including product or website designers and developers, marketing managers, and C-suite leaders.

It’s vital that these colleagues understand, believe in, and know how to act on the data.

Finally, remember that user research should never end. It’s important to continue learning from your users. The marketplace and technology evolve, so must your product, service, or website.

Research Methods

The most common user study methods include interviews, focus groups, surveys, card sorting, A/B testing, and usability testing. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each research methodology.

● Interviews

Asking non-leading, open-ended questions with a user to learn about their attitudes, desires, and experiences.

Pros: Provides the most detailed information, can see non-verbal cues

Cons: Expensive and time consuming to conduct and analyse

● Focus Groups

Interviewing several people at the same time.

Pros: Increased reach, reduces time and expenses

Cons: Potential for moderator bias, loudest users can influence others, difficult to analyse

● Surveys

Gathering quantitative and qualitative information from users via (typically anonymous) questionnaires.

Pros: Easy, inexpensive, most expansive reach

Cons: Low response rates, poorly worded questions can skew results, limited ability for follow up

● Card Sorting

Asking users to categorize a set of terms to understand how they organize information.

Pros: Quick, simple, and inexpensive to perform

Cons: Provides limited information; analysis can take time

● A/B Testing

Showing two different concepts to an equal number of users to determine which better accomplished a specific goal.

Pros: Conclusive answers to specific questions

Cons: Limited use cases, limited data, time-consuming

● Usability Testing

Observing users perform predefined tasks.

Pros: Measures actual behaviours (not perceived preferences)

Cons: Expensive and difficult to run

Online Studies vs. Lab Studies

Many types of user research can be conducted remotely. In fact, online user research has key advantages over traditional testing.

● Reach: Access to an unlimited geographic area allows for a larger pool of participants.

● Environment: Users are in their space using their hardware and software, which creates a greater comfort level.

● Cost: Eliminating travel expenses and reducing logistical challenges makes remote studies quicker and less expensive to complete.

● Neutrality: Less potential for bias introduced by a lab setting and/or a moderator’s body language.

● Flexibility: Online research bypasses potential barriers, such as lack of transportation or a global pandemic.

Despite these myriad benefits, there are reasons that online user studies may not be feasible or preferred.

● If information security is paramount, it’s generally more challenging to maintain control over online proprietary information (and user data).

● If your user base is mainly rural or lower-income, you may find it challenging to find participants who have reliable high-speed internet connections.

● If your study depends heavily on tracking a user’s movements or interaction with a product, it may not be possible in a virtual setting.

Moderated vs. Unmoderated User Studies

Remote research is divided into two categories—moderated and unmoderated.

In moderated sessions, a facilitator speaks directly to participants and guides them through questions and/or tasks.

This type of qualitative research provides the most in-depth insights into precisely what users think and do and why. They are also more expensive and limited to the availability of a trained moderator.

Unmoderated studies are conducted online at the user’s convenience. Participants follow on-screen instructions and are encouraged to speak their thoughts aloud, which are recorded.

This type of research doesn’t allow for explanation or follow-up questions, which can create confusion and limit the quality of feedback. On the upside, you can run unlimited sessions at all times using a variety of online technology solutions at a lower cost per participant.

Recruiting for Online User Studies

Whether you choose moderated or unmoderated studies, it’s important to ensure that participants fit your user base or target audience. The right users make all the difference in the quality and usability of your results.

Generally, the most reliable recruitment will happen using your database of customers. If that doesn’t exist or doesn’t produce enough participants, however, you can also try:

● A recruitment agency or panel company can find specific participants but will be costly.

● User testing software companies that specialize in recruiting, which will generate a list of participants who applied for your project through a project board or email blast.

● Posting on social media outlets like Reddit, Craigslist, and Linkedin. In this case, it’s important to screen potential candidates because almost anyone could see and apply.

● Asking family and friends is a low-cost solution, but could be create issues of bias and mismatches with your actual user base.

How to Choose the Best Research Method

Some types of user research (interviews, usability studies) are easier to recreate online than others (focus groups, card sorting).

The ideal situation is to combine insights from multiple types of user research methods and testing rounds. However, it can be time and cost prohibitive to implement several methods in the real world.

Generally, in-person moderated studies are the best choice if your study requires hands-on participation and has a lot of room for confusion. To conduct these studies online, it’s imperative to consider all potential challenges and to thoroughly test the study before recruiting actual participants.

If you’re most concerned with asking open-ended questions that elicit a great depth of insights, a moderated study conducted online will be a great choice.

If your budget is tight or you’re most concerned with getting a larger quantity of responses, a remote unmoderated study is probably the best option.

Best Practices for Moderated Remote Studies

Moving from moderating in-person research to remote research can feel like a big shift, but by and large, a lot of the practices stay the same.

Here are some best practices for conducting remote moderated testing.

Study design

Shifting from in-person to remote moderated research requires thoughtful preparation. Start with the problem you want to solve or the hypothesis you want to test, and create questions or tasks that address it.

Qualitative methods can generate a lot of information. When every question or task has a clear purpose, you’ll waste less time, reduce participant fatigue, and avoid “analysis paralysis.”

Knowing exactly what you’ll ask also helps identify where you’ll need tools to support your online research (read more about virtual research tools below).

Also, decide who will observe sessions. Allowing developers, project managers, marketers, and others to witness (and even engage with) the research can increase the likelihood that the results will be understood and put to use.

Make sure observers know in advance of the research session what’s expected of them. Should they mute themselves? What types of questions, if any, can they ask and when? How should they communicate with you or each other during the session?

Session management

Before jumping into your research, create a welcoming atmosphere. Let participants know that you appreciate their time and value their input, and review confidentiality measures.

Disclose upfront whether there are observers and if they will also ask questions. Share the session length, the types of questions or tasks they can expect, the desired answer complexity.

Confirm that users have—and know how to use—anything necessary for the session. Let them know what to do in case of technical difficulties.

Ask permission to record video and/or audio, and both the moderator and user should turn off any potential distractions.

During the session, observers should take notes on any insights they have about what the participant says or does

End the session by thanking participants for their time and insights, and letting them know how they’ll receive any compensation.

Stop the recording when participants leave or leave it on if your team plans to stay and compare notes about the session.

Data analysis

After all of your remote research sessions, gather all observers’ notes and work together to distill the findings. Look for and discuss patterns and themes and how the team will apply the information to your product, service, or website.

Any tools you’ve used may also produce data, which may need to be aggregated before analysis and compilation with your team’s findings.

Best Practices for Remote Unmoderated Studies

Instead of having a human direct the study, unmoderated research relies on a software application to instruct users, ask questions, and record their actions or answers.

By and large, remote unmoderated studies share the same best practices as those above for moderated research. However, there are a few unique considerations to keep in mind.

Study design

Start with your problem or hypothesis and create questions or tasks that address it. Beware that clarity is paramount without a moderator offering explanations or answering questions.

Make instructions explicit, so users know exactly what to do. If you’re asking participants to record themselves, include clear triggers so they know when they should start and stop. Be specific with open-ended questions to avoid rambling responses unrelated to your goals.

Run a trial session to uncover any ambiguous instructions, questions, or potential problems with the study design or technology. Replicate actual testing situations by using real participants with their equipment.

Finally, a 10 to 15 per cent drop-off rate is typical in unmoderated studies, so plan to recruit more participants than you need.

Session management

Lower your drop-off rate by recording or writing a warm welcome that thanks participants for their time and insights.

Also, be clear up front with instructions and expectations. Let the user know exactly what they will be doing and how long the session will take.

Before they log off, include a final thank-you message and any information about compensation or follow-up they may receive.

Data analysis

Unmoderated studies can accumulate a lot of data and typically require extra manpower to analyse.

Quantitative data is straightforward. The testing tool will automatically collect and generate data visualizations for metrics like success rate, task time, and ratings.

For qualitative data, however, you’ll need to review interview questions and session recordings to take notes on user behaviour and identify positive and negative reactions.

Unmoderated testing tools with robust video analysis features can help by aggregating, exporting, sharing, and visualizing any notes you add to recordings and creating compilations of important moments.

Tools for Remote User Studies

Conducting user studies online necessarily requires software or apps. There are many options available (at a wide range of price points) for every type of research task.

● User Recruitment (Respondent, Ethnio)

● Video Conferencing/Recording (Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, GoTo Meeting)

● Note-Taking (ConfirmKit, Pear Note)

● Transcription (Rev, Reduct, Otter.ai, Trint)

● Surveys (Alchemer, Typeform, Survey Monkey, Survey Legend, YesInsights, Survicate)

● Usability Testing (Lookback, PingPong, UserTesting, Loop11, Userbrain, Userlytics, UsabilityHub, UserZoom, FocusVision, Qualtrics, InVision)

● A/B Testing (Optimizely, VWO)

Conclusion

User research is a crucial method for validating assumptions about your users’ needs and experiences. Done well, remote user testing can provide rich data that will help you understand how your target audience interacts with your product, service, or website.

Unfortunately, user studies are not “one size fits all.” There are many methods, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. The choice depends on your goals for the type of data you want to gather.

Conducting user studies in the online environment isn’t always the best option. Still, it can be incredibly helpful if you’re working with a global audience, are under budget or time constraints, or face limitations due to the COVID pandemic.

How is your product received by consumers or business decision-makers? What are the pros and cons of a change in an existing product feature or new varieties of your current big-sellers? Why is a product failing to perform? You want to tweak a formulation, messaging or packaging to cut costs or reach new audiences – but will that scupper or supercharge your sales? The answers to all these questions can be found in product testing research.

What is product testing?

With product testing, we’re not looking to establish general consumer attitudes or behaviours. Nor is this about standing up a new concept or looking for gaps in the market. The primary job of product testing is to tell us how people respond to an actual product – including how they use it and what they think its qualities are – allowing brands to decide whether and how to market it.

When should I do product testing research?

Let’s look at the natural marketing life-cycle to explain how product testing research can support the emergence, and successful exploitation, of a product – and place it in the context of a wider field of market research:

Ideation – dreaming up an idea worth pursuing. Research helps identify unmet consumer needs, value-chain opportunities, potential applications of innovation and new markets.
Screening – a rigorous approach to deciding which ideas are worth pursuing, again drawing on research and feasibility work, and assessing potential audiences.
Concept testing – seeing how the manifestation of ideas might work in the market, leading to additional screening out of less viable concepts.
Prototyping – designing products to prove mass production feasibility, form factors and feature sets.
Early product testing – evaluating consumer attitudes to the product itself, either in controlled settings, in the field or in everyday contexts; typically unbranded or with highly simplified packaging.
Late product testing – which might include feedback from earlier tests to refine messaging, packaging and final form factor.
Testing iterations of a product to forecast the impact (on sales and usage) of changes to features, formulations, targeting and marketing – often in response to changes in sales patterns or negative customer feedback.

In other words, product testing is distinct from concept testing. It’s all about refining the delivery of something that is (or soon will be) a finished product. This might include changes to feature sets, the marketing pitch, pricing, ideal target audience and other details. It’s not so much whether the product works – it’s how the product will work best.

Use cases for product testing research

In summary, then, you can apply product testing to:

Find out how a close-to-final version of a new product might perform.
Tweak that product to optimise its performance on launch.
See how a new product is performing post-launch.
Test the effect of changes to product design or presentation.
Evaluate or explore how a product is marketed.
See how well consumers in a new market will accept an existing product.
Undertake ‘penalty analysis’ to see which qualities, when changed, alter consumer options about a product.

Product testing in action – a case study

One way to think about the value of product testing is as a way to optimise the introduction or evolution of a particular product. A good example is work we’ve done with a beverage brand to launch a new range of iced teas. The client wasn’t launching a brand-new product – they had worked up some new flavours and wanted to know which they could launch successfully, how these might affect brand perception and what consumers made of them.

There were eight formulations to be tested. We added in an established variant to act as a benchmark, giving us a way to test the relative strength of the products. We measured various metrics with consumers to provide comparable scores as a key insights.

The product isn’t necessarily going to change in this case. It’s a chance for the client to check which variants might work best, to optimise the roll-out and then make minor refinements if the research delivers consistent feedback on particular elements. How research subjects describe the teas might also help shape marketing and packaging for instance.

In other cases, clients might test out product names and straplines on consumers while they’re testing the product to create a range of possibilities, not just on the branding and marketing, but also on likely target audiences and even pricing. Does the product live up to a premium positioning? Or will it chime with more down-to-earth messaging?

The role of product testing guidelines

We work with many clients that have well-established product testing guidelines – a set of standards that enable them to better evaluate products over time and give them clearer benchmarks for making decisions. For large corporates in particular, the product testing research project is an exercise in generating fairly standardised numbers – data that fits a well-established, almost algorithmic approach to evaluating potential product performance.

When this isn’t the case – or if the guidelines are relatively basic – it’s a good idea to establish some clear ground rules at the start of a project to ensure it delivers insights that will shape client decisions. You might need to agree:

How the product should be stored, prepared, presented and used.
The audience it should be tested with, and how to recruit them.
Where to conduct tests with participants (see below).
What metrics to record.
How to record their experiences – and other feedback.
The research methodologies that will work best.
Whether to use a control product for comparative purposes.

Introducing a framework helps everyone understand what success looks like for a product: for it to go forward, what will the research need to show? Is it being on par with an existing or rival product on overall performance? Does it need to be statistically stronger on key metrics?

In some ways, it’s akin to a science experiment: you outline the aim (proving it’s better than the existing product) based on your prediction (the product design); we provide a sound, rigorous methodology to test that assumption (the research); and the result gives conclusive result to tell you how to proceed.

How does product testing work? Where and how to test

Different objectives of product testing will suit different methodologies. A lot depends on what brands already know about the product and the way it’s perceived; on what they want to learn from the tests (see below); and the type of product under review.

There are broadly three environments to conduct product tests. Let’s look at the use-cases and the pros and cons.

1. Central Location Testing (CLT)

This is where participants are invited to a facility to undertake the test. This is ideal for evaluating products in controlled conditions, especially when testing a variety of use cases. It’s also suited to products that won’t be used as much in the home – especially in food outlets, for instance.

A good example would be a new foamless cappuccino we tested. To get comparable results, the same machine was used in different central testing centres, with the client providing an expert barista to produce the same product every time.

CLT is ideal for evaluating products under controlled conditions – testing different fragrances, say, is hard if the conditions allow for cross-contamination of scents. But it’s also very useful where confidentiality is important. We set up a CLT in a hotel, for example, so that a new tech product could be tested by invited consumers without the design leaking. Non-disclosure agreements might be a feature of any product test, but for this kind of commercially or technologically sensitive research, the controlled setting can be helpful too.

The other advantage of CLT is liability management. Some products – foodstuff and cosmetics, in particular – might cause adverse reactions with test subjects, and it’s easier to screen and monitor them on-site.

You can find out more about central location testing in our guide.

2. Street Intercept Testing (SIT)

This is literally grabbing participants in an ambient setting for a few minutes to get them to try something and test their reactions. This works well for relatively simple research – the questionnaire will need to be relatively quick in a supermarket or street setting – and for targeting particular participants. Testing a new cheese at the deli counter in a supermarket would be one application.

It’s also ideal for capturing insights within specific use locations – when a central facility would be a little abstract. We worked with a sports beverage brand to test a special protein-rich drink. The use-case is post-exercise, so intercepts with the target market in a gym setting yielded much more insights than a central location could have.

3. In-Home Testing (IHT)

For many products, the consumer’s home (or, in some cases, their workplace) will be the usual usage location. Getting the products into the home for a period of use, then running online, telephone or face-to-face follow-up questionnaires is a great way to see how they work ‘as intended’.

In-home testing tends to be ideal for more sustained testing. The taste of a new iced tea or reformulated cheese can be tested fairly immediately. But a toothpaste, cleaning product, in-home device or even lightbulb, will only reveal itself properly over a few days’ use. Out of the control conditions, we can learn more about how good instructions for use are; we can see how consumers might use the product in their daily lives or in combination with other products; and we can monitor evolving opinions about the product as they get used to it.

Obviously in-home testing has been popular during Covid-19 lockdowns – not least because many products are now being consumed or used in the home that might otherwise have been ambient products; but also because centralised or street intercept tests have been harder to run for biosecurity reasons.

Note also that IHT allows for different research methodologies. As well as post-use surveys, we can get consumers to keep diaries of use, highlighting a wider variety of situations and providing more qualitative inputs.

Woman scanning food in her fridge with her phone

How to do product testing

Where to start

For many companies, product testing isn’t the start of their journey with us. This kind of research is often part of a much bigger engagement process around a brand or product line; or it might be commissioned by a brand we already do different kinds of work with. So the starting point is rarely a cold introduction to a product.

But even with some engagement beforehand, the first step in product testing is to look at the product and the client’s requirements, and then design an approach that will answer their key questions.

For some, those questions will be extremely precise. For example, one detergent brand asked us to test out a new toilet cleaning product. They knew exactly what segment they wanted to target – ABC1 consumers in their 30s and 40s who were already familiar with the brand – and even the methodology they wanted (in-home testing).

That’s largely a logistical challenge – getting the product and a control cleaner into their homes, in plain packaging, so they can be tested side-by-side; then running an online survey to generate some quantitative data and some qualitative feedback comparing the product to a known comparator.

Another example might be a commercial-kitchen mayonnaise we tested. The client was keen to assess not just how the product performed against other formulations of mayo, but also what professional chefs thought of it in different applications. Will it be at least on par with the existing product? What recipes or dishes did it suit? And how did it compare commercially?

One thing to bear in mind is that you should be testing for things you might change as a result of the insights we generate. Knowing what can change (from packaging and marketing, to cosmetic attributes or even key design features) as a result of the research findings – and what you definitely can’t alter – will ensure the tests are focused and useful.

Methodology reflections

We find that CLT is generally better for ‘sequential monadic’ testing. ‘Monadic’ means the consumer is evaluating a single product, and this is obviously possible in any environment. Even ‘paired comparison’ testing – head-to-head – can be done in-home. But sequencing the comparisons scientifically (standalone, then in head-to-head, for example) often generates more reliable data.

In terms of participant recruitment, clearly targeting the audience accurately – whether in the field, via lists of consumers, or panels – is key. They are often motivated because they receive free products. But in some cases, especially with the more in-depth or time-consuming studies, the chance to earn money is also a motivator.

Hard and soft questions

Product testing can answer a lot of questions. For seasoned clients, they’re often very precise ones – they’re seeking standardised data on usage and performance that will help them contextualise the product within a portfolio.

A good example of a ‘hard’ question might be pricing. Using techniques such as the Gabor–Granger method (to understand price elasticity) or the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter (which creates an optimal price point for a given audience), research can reveal a lot about the economics of a product.

Hard questions like that are often central, even when we’re working with smaller companies that are looking to take a product from prototype to production and need to calculate the risk/rewards involved.

Smaller companies, however, are more likely to be asking ‘soft’ questions, too, where quantitative surveys are augmented with qualitative insights. They might be trying to learn more about consumer attitudes to the category as well as the product; or develop a deeper understanding either to tweak the product being researched – or inform future innovations.

A good market research agency can really help with this part of the process. For example, in some companies there might not be rigid product testing guidelines in place. But by explaining what they need to know to market the product, what they might be able to change about it and what they’re not sure about, we can help companies come up with fieldwork that will deliver clear metrics and provide answers to their key questions.

What’s the outcome?

A well-planned, well-run product testing project is rarely just looking for a blunt ‘go/no-go’ answer to a product roll-out or adjustment. Although many big brands have a well-established formula for conducting product tests – designed to plug data into their tried-and-tested algorithms – even these clients will often use the test as an opportunity to learn more about the product in different dimensions.

Sometimes that’s just a by-product of a sufficiently expert and thoughtful product test. As market research professionals, we learn a lot more about products during tests than the raw data suggests. Often it’s the degree of flexibility the market research team brings to the product test that makes it most valuable.

That’s true whether the primary objective is standardised data on product attributes – or semi-quantitative work with a healthy dose of qualitative inputs to shape decisions. By making sure the parameters for the product’s adaptation are clear and the questions about it well framed, we can ensure the right blend of methodology and insights meet the client needs.

A good example of that would be taste tests for a new formulation at a chocolate brand. ‘Super tasters’ working at the client will arrive at some finely calibrated formulation, created to be aligned to brand values and differentiate the product. But it’s ordinary consumers whose verdict will shape its ultimate success.

Looking to embark on product testing research?

With experience in product testing research, we can combine the inputs and recommend robust methodologies to make sure the product hits the sweet spot in the market. Find out more about our product testing capabilities or get in touch to discuss with our team.